Code marking device for labels



April 29, 1952 E, E POHL 2,594,679

CODE MARKING DEVICE FOR LABELS i Filed Feb. 26, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ERNEST E. POHL ATTORNEY April 29, 1952 E. E. Pol-n.l

CODE MARKING DEVICE FOR LABELS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1949 INVENTOR ATTORNEY April 29, 1952 E. E. POHL CODE MARKING DEVICE FOR LABELS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 26. 1949 ATTO R N EY April 29, 1952 E. E. POHL. 2,594,679

' CODE MARKING DEVICE EOE LABELS Filed Feb. 26, 1949 4 sheets-sheet 4 lNvENToR ERNEST E. POHL ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1952 CODE MARKING DEVICE FOR LABELSl Ernest E. Pohl, Elmhurst, N. Y., assigner to American Machine and Foundry Company, a corporation of VNew Jersey Applica-tion Eebraury 26, 1949, Serial No. 78,510

2 Claims. (Cl. lOl-'228) This invention relates to code-dating apparatus and more particularly to a device which is particularly wellsuited for use with an end label attaching machine of the type commonly employed with bread wrapping machines.

The practice of attaching labels to vtheends of packages such `as loaves of bread for example is now well established. In order to determine how old or how long a particular package has been on a shelf in a grocery store for example, it is desirable Vto mark'the package at Vthe time of wrapping either with arcode mark or a date'. If this code or date mark is placed on the endilabel it may be quickly seen becauserthe ends of bread loaves are usuallyvisible Without having to handle each package individually.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide a code-dater which maybe readily employed with end labeling apparatus now commonly used end labelV applier which willbemaintain'ed free from printing on an end label Whenlno packages are present lto which end labels are to be attached.

It is also anobjectto provide a code-dating and printing apparatus which. will ,maintain .the

,printer Vfree from being respeatedly inked when lno package is present towhcha label is to be ap- `plied.y

A further Objectis to provide a code-dating device. which will be ad'aptablefor operation by the same drives whichoperate the V,end labelattaching mechanism. with which the code-dating device iste be used.

Another object is to provide a code-datingde- 1 vice whereinthe-printedindiciavcan befeasilyand quickly changed for other indicia. whenever de- Asired.

' vOther objects andfeatures of theinventionwill appear as thedescription of the particular physical embodiment selected toillustratethe invention progresses. In the vaccompanyingr drawings, which forma part of this specicationlike characters .of reierencehave been applied to corre.-

sponding parts throughout the several views which make up fthe drawings.

Fig. lis aside elevationfpartly inHsectiorrbciffV 2 an end labeling device in conjunction with a code-dater, taken on line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the end labeler and code-dater.

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the codedater.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 5 is an isometric view Ashowing the dated label afxed to the end of a package. A

Fig. 6 is an isometric view illustrating a modined form cfa code-dater, and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of, a modified, interchangeablecode-dating element.

The' end labeling device use din conjunction with this new and novel code-dater is of similar design and construction as the onevdfsclosed in vLetters Patent 2,349,317, issued to Millard F. Weida, May 23, 1944. In the disclosedconstruction the label material is pulled from a. roll vR (Fig. 1) in the form of a web W bymeans of three intermittently rotating feed rollers IIJ, II and I2 which feed said web past an oscillating cutting knife I3 which at the fproper time cuts individual labels from saidweb.

The roll R of label material, which may beprovided with a suitable adhesive agent such as a thermoplastic coating consistingof c reperubber wax composition of the general type disclosed in wPatent 2,054,113 grantedrto A. Abrams et al. on September 15, 1936, is held upon a reel I 4 which is mounted on a suitable shaft (not shown) supported by a bearing bracket I6 extending from a housing I7. To bracket I6 is also pivoted kan arm I8 carrying a'spring tensioned take-uproll'er .I 9 over which the web W is guided to prevent any slackor. looping, of said web.

A wrapping machine Vis usually equipped with two end labeling units tortakue care of Athe two ends of every package wrapped by said machine. Eaihilablne unit iS dfb/@11.111 SYnchrQIlSm With the Wrapping machine by one ofvr thepac'kage Aconveyor chains 2 I. The latter engages with a sprocket 22 mounted on the en dlabelunit drive ,Shaft 2.3 .which is .Supnortedhy,alsuitable bearing of housing. I 1 and a bearing in a bracket'A 25 which is. Vsecured to ther frame of. the wrapping machine Y(not shown). To assure proper engagementof chain2l and sprocket.22,nsaid chain issupported by a Nsuitable guide rail 24 attached to the lower portion or" bracket 25. Y A Y The end label unit illustrated in the accompanying drawings is driven `in'tlfie same manner as that disclosed-in theabove mentionedPatent 2,349,317. A bevel gear 29.1,nounted'onjshait23 drives a bevel gearv30 which in turn is connected with a gear 34 meshing with a gear 36 mounted on a shaft 31 to which is also secured a disc 39. The latter carries a crank pin 40 to which is pivoted the upper portion of a crank arm 4|. The lower portion of the latter is pivoted to a crank lug 42 loosely mounted on a shaft 43 supported by suitable bearings of housing l1. Gear 34 is an integral part of bevel gear 30 and both gears are loosely mounted on a stud or shaft 3|.

Crank lug 42 carries a pawl 44 which, by means of a suitable tension spring 45 is held in engagement with a ratchet 46 mounted on the shaft 43, thus transmitting intermittent motion to shaft 43 to which the feed roller |0, mentioned heretofore, is fastened. Keyed to shaft 43 is a gear 41 meshing with a gear 48 which is attached to feed roller The gear 48, as well as the feed roller are loosely mounted on a stud 49 held by a suitable bearing bracket extending from housing |1. Gear 48 meshes with a gear 5| (Fig. 2), which is an integral part of feed roller I2 and loosely mounted on a stud 53, held by the heretofore mentioned bearing bracket.

Loosely mounted on stud 31 and attached to gear 36 is a cam 38. Said cam 38 rotates continuously with gear 36 and engages with a cam roller 54 pivoted to a cam lever 55 which is mounted on a shaft 56 supported by a suitable bearing in housing |1. To shaft 56 is secured an operating lever 51 (Fig. 1) which by means of a connecting rod 58 is connected to the label applier arm 59 suitably pivoted to a vertical stud 60 (Fig. 2). The latter is supported by a suitable bearing lug 6| of a horizontal supporting bracket 62 extending from housing |1.

In the same manner as illustrated in the heretofore mentioned Patent 2,349,317 the applier cam 59 is equipped with a label applier head 63 and also carries a cam roller 65 (Fig. l) which in connection with a cam lug 66 actuates the cutting knife |3. The latter in conjunction with the stationary ledger plate 69 performs the cutting of the individual labels L from the web W as disclosed in said Patent 2,349,317. The ledger plate 69 together with a guide plate 13 form a guide channel for the leading end of web W from which the individual label L is to be cut.

The packages P emerging from a Wrapping machine (not shown) are propelled through a delivery runway consisting of a pair of side guide plates 14 and a suitable bottom plate (not shown) by a series of pusher arms (not shown) equally spaced and swingably attached to a pair of conveyor chains 2|. As mentioned heretofore, each of the conveyor chains 2| drives its respective end labeling unit which are placed opposite each other at the end of each side guide plate 14. Since the manner in which the end labels are applied to each end fold of package when passing the end labeling unit is fully disclosed in Patent 2,349,317 further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

In order to prevent slippage of the web and loss of registration of the printed matter on the labels, the edges of the web are provided with properly spaced cut-outs or identations I which register with correspondingly spaced, raised portions 85 of the feeding drum The stroke of crank arm 4| actuating the pawl 44 as well as the ratchet 46 with which said pawl engages are set for proper registration as well as the proper timing with relation to the operating arm 51 which actuates and controls the label applying a well as the label cutting means.

Since it is desirable to stop the label feed in case of a missing package, the labeling unit is provided with a feeler plate (Fig. 2) which is located in the path of the traveling packages ahead of the labeling units of the machine. Said feeler plate is fastened to a lever 9| mounted on a shaft 92 supported by a bearing bracket 93 held by bracket 62. To shaft 92 is secured an arm 94 which through a link 95 is connected to the upper end of a double lever 9B loosely mounted on a stud 91 held by bracket 93. The lower end of double lever 96 is connected by rod 98 to a stud 99 mounted on a lever |00 which is secured to a vertical shaft |0| supported by suitable bearing lugs within the housing I1. To the upper portion of shaft |0| is fastened an arm |02 carrying an adjustable stud |03, the lower portion of which is equipped with a shoe |04.

The action of the no-package no-labe1 device is as follows:

When no package is in the delivery runway, feeler plate 90, hangs in its lowermost position, causing, through the hook-up and linkage just described, the shoe |04 to press pawl 44 out of engagement with ratchet 46, thus arresting the intermittent motion imparted to shaft 43 by crank arm 4| and pawl 44. As soon as a package encounters the feeler plate 90 the latter is lifted by the former causing arm |02 to swing the shoe |04 out of the pathof the pawl 44 permitting the engagement of the same with ratchet 46. thereby permitting the feedof one label length of web Wpast the now open knife |3.

The code-dating device used in conjunction with the end labeling device just described is employed for the purpose of providing the end labels with a date, code o1' other identification marks by which the manufacturer or dealer can readily identify the date of manufacturing of the article wrapped, its serial number or any other data which may be marked or printed on the end label.

The code-dating device consists of a housing ||0 which by means of bolts 2 is securely attached to a flange 4 projecting from the end labeler unit housing |1. Within housing ||0 on a shaft ||6 (Figs. 3 and 4) is loosely mounted a U-shaped arm ||8 the free ends of which resting on a pair of supporting lugs |20 which are an integral part of housing ||0. The free ends of said U-shaped arm also carry a cross-pin |22 to the central portion of which is anchored a tension spring |24. The other end of the latter is suitably attached to the bottom of housing |0. Each side of the U-shaped arm ||8 is provided with a horizontal slot |26 each of which engages with a stud |20 projecting from each side of the lower portion |30 of a stamp applier head |32. A pair of tension springs |34 held by cross pin |22 and anchored to each stud |28 are employed to keep studs |28 in contact with the rear end of slots |26 during stamping action.

The upper portion of stamp applier head |32 carries a cross pin |36 to each projecting end of which is pivoted one end of a link |38 while the other ends of both links are pivoted to a pair of arms |40 which form an operating member |42 which is loosely mounted on a shaft |44 (Fig. 4) held by the U-shaped bracket I8. Member |42 is furthermore equipped with an actuating lever |46, which on its free end carries a stud |48. The latter engages with a slot |50 provided in the free end of a connecting rod |52 which on its other end is pivoted to a crank pin |54 secured to a crank |56 which is mounted on a horizontal cross-shaft |58 supported in suitable bearings in lugs |20 of housing ||0.

lhousing l1.

.Stud |48 lszheld yieldlngly inengagementwith .slot :|50 .by means of alsultable tension spring |68 employed for the purpose ofsupplying the ink to the lettering on the Ytop surface of .the .stamp applier `|32 everytime before the latter prints a label. `The ink pad |68 can readily be removed for re-,inking if required. 1 1-l 'Ihe top cfu-housing |0jis coveredby a suitable Vweb guide plate which is-provided with a cut out |12 to permit the stamp applier |32 to protrude through said vcover plate during stamp applying operation. Over said cut out |12 but 4slightly above cover plate |10 is located a cushion |14 (Figs. 1 and 13) resiliently attached to and ,held by a suitable Ibracket |16 mounted on hous- .ing l1. Asiuustrated in Fig. -i Ythe web W is les @from the reel vl1. over the take up roller I9 ,and

on shaft 56 and, by means of a tension spring |80 Vand afstud |82, yieldingly connected tothe ,oscillating operating lever 51. The latter, as mentioned above, receives its motion through camlever 55 on shaft 56 and cam 38. One end of a link |84 is pivoted to stud miV whiie the yotherend of said link is provided with a s lot |86 v.(l'lig. l) which engages with a stud |88. pivoted in the Acani arm |90. Slot |86 is provided for purposes of adjustment. Cam arm |90 is loosely mounted `on va stud |92 held by housing ||0. The :lower free end of arm |90 is provided with a cam shoey |94 (Figs: 1, 3 and 4) which engages withearoller |96 pivoted to the. end of one arm of `a. double lever |98.

The end ofthe other arm of -said double lever |98 carries a roller 200 which contacts the lower end of a vertical plunger 202 which protrudes .through the bottom of housing ||0. The upper Wportion of the vertical plunger 202 engages with the lower portion |30 of the stamp applier |32. Plunger 202 is slidably supported bya suitable guide .lug 204 at the ybottom of housing H0. Double lever |98 is loosely mounted ona stud 206 .heldI by a suitable lug 206 projecting from housli' ||l /,The-.label code-dating device illustrated in .u l, 2 13 andl performs two'principal opera 110115. jy. the lkine 0f thestamp applier head :am d'ffthe stamp applying operation itself. e operaticngof ,sfl'ipplyingink to the stamp applie h 32 ith the moment the feed Y n and is effected through ...g 54 |60 which causes to rotate direction of the arrow shown Y, u crank through connectingarod t8fcauses vthe operatingmember |42 and arms 114.9 10-191191? lllh `lllollghilrllis '|38 furthermore carries across rod |66 to which is detachably clamped a suitable inked stamp 'pad package.

6 7and then to follow saldlinksin Va. horizontal vdirection towards lthe ink pad |58. aDuringthis .movement vthe applier head is guided by means .of `its two studs |28 which advance in the `horifzontal `slots r| 26v of :the U -shaped arm 8.

The mechanism is so designed and Varranged that, when the crank has turned1180 the stamp- .ing'face of the applier head |32-is in Contact with lthe ink pad |68 as illustrated in dottedlineslirl Fig. :3. As crank |56continues to turn, the'apvplier head |32 with the vaid of vtension springs label length of .web .is fed `past y,the knife 1.3; and

ledger plate l69, the label applierfhead `6.3 v:and knife y|3 through operating .lever 51 L.get .into action and'cutisaid label off said web anda-pply thesame to theendcf the passing package-P.

Since Vthe arm |18 whicheffects the stamp applying operation is yieldinglyrconnected to 'and actuated by operating lever 151,'the stamp iszapplied to the web during Vthe same period when a out label is applied .to the v`-end of the passing The .stamp .applying loperation takes place as lever l51 and arm |18 move -fcrwardin the direction of thearrow shown in Fig. 1. Since cam arm |90 isconnected .tovarm |18 by the link |84, the former is .alsomoved forward, causing cam shoe `|94 .to press roller |96 in a downward direction which, in turn actuates'the doubleilever |98 in such a waythat the roller 200carried py the opposite arm moves in an upward direction. This effects a lifting of plungeri-202"whichgtaotilg upon the stamp applier head |32 causes lthe flatter to be pushed upward, through the cutout |12 in cover plate |10; into contact with .'webW to :print a date or codeon a predetermined spot on the web. l

As mentioned heretofore a resiliently mounted cushion |14 aids in establishing a rm contact of the stamp applier head with the web W. During the return motion -of `operating `lever v51, the stamp applier head Vv|32, of course, descends again and resumes its original upright position within housing |0. To prevent lcooking while resting in this position, the e U-shaped arm I| `|8fi1s `provided with a suitablesupporting bar |9 (Fig. As described above the' stamp vface of the applier head |32 is coated vwith fresh in k each time before printing action.

Since the 4'end label unit is provided with a no-package, no-label device which arrests the feed roller |05, no inking operation will take place in such casefsince the crank |56 isvgeare'd with said feed roller, the lmovement of which is'ar.- rested. However, -since operating lever A51 actuated by cam 38 andcontinues to oscillate, the stampapplier head |32 would ordinarily be lifted and brought into contactwith web W even-if there was no package andthe web feeding mechanismwas arrested. In such a case'the jstamp `face would .repeatedly contact the web .inoperatQn and` notarrestedby .them-,package no-label device.

The lock-out lever 2|0 is pvoted to a stud 2|2 held by a suitable bearing block 2|4 secured to bracket 62 (Fig. 1). The free end of said lever 2|0 is provided with a suitable notch 2 |6 which engages with a suitable cut out or tongue 2 I8 of arm |18. Lock out lever 2 I0 is furthermore provided with a control arm 220 which, on its free end carries a roller 222 which protrudes into the path of control pins 224 projecting from the face of gear 41. Since one third of a revolution of feed roller is equal to the length of one label, gear 41 is provided with three equally spaced pins 224. To lock out lever 2|0 there is also pivoted a bell crank shaped trip lever 226 which on one end is provided with a slanted nose 228 while the other end is provided with a notch 230.

The operation of the lock-out arrangement may be briefly described as follows:

If, due to the presence of a package, the web feed is set in motion, shortly after starting, one of the control pins 224 will contact the roller 222 and, while passing the latter will cause a momentary downward motion of control arm 220 which will effect an upward motion of the lock out lever 2|0 causing the latter to raise to such an extent as to effect a disengagement of its notch 2 I6 from the tongue 2|8 of arm |18. The lower edge of arm 2|0 will then clear the top edge of tongue 2|8 of arm |18 completely, thus freeing arm |18 to follow operating lever 51 at the end of the labeling cycle. Although lock out lever 250 is raised only momentarily when pin 224 contacts roller222 it is maintained in this raised position by notch 230 of trip lever 226 engaging with the edge of a lock plate 234 due to pivot point 232 being raised sufficiently high to permit this.

As lever 51 starts to move forward, arm |18 also moves forward. The stud |82 which is carried by and projects from both sides of said arm |18 then contacts the slanted nose 228 of trip lever 226. This causes the trip lever'226 to swing upward and affect a disengagement of notch 230 from lock plate 234, thus allowing the lock out lever 2|0 to drop. The lower edge of the lever 2|0 rides on the top edge of tongue 2|8 permitarm |18 the re-engagement of notch 2|6 of lever 2|0 with tongue 2|8 of arm |18.

Of course, if due to the absence of a package the web feed is arrested, the control arm 220 is not depressed by any of the pins 224 and the stamp applier is also arrested during that period. The operating lever 51, however, can continue its oscillating motion due to the yielding connection of arm |18 with lever 51 by means of spring |80.

While some prefer a reciprocating type of code dater just described, there is illustrated in Fig. 6 a modified form of my invention showing a rotary type of code-dater. Due to the simple construction and the accessibility of its component parts for cleaning and inspecting this modified form of my invention is preferred in many instances.

In this form of the invention the web W is led from the roll R around an idler roller 250 in between the latter and feed roller |0 and onto another feed roller 252. This feed roller 252 is similar to feed roller in that they are both equipped with spaced raised portions 254 and 85 which engage with corresponding cut outs or indentations I of the web W. From feed roller 252 the web is led onto the feed roller which feeds said web into the guide channel formed by ledger plate 69 and guide plate 13 shown in Fig. l. and described heretofore. In order to take ting, during the return stroke of lever 51 and L17 ing a different day of the Week' care of any variations in the spacing of the cut outs I of the web, the relative positions of the raised portions 254 of roller 252 to the raised portions on feed roller II are such that the web W may form a loop S which assures an easy feeding of said web and eliminates any tension or stress on the same.

Roller 250 is mounted on a stud 256 to which is secured a gear 258 which is driven from gear 41 the driving means of which has been described heretofore. Gear 258 in turn drives a gear 260 secured to the feed roller 252, both of which are loosely mounted on a stud 282. The latter as well as stud 256 are held by a suitable bracket (not shown) which it attached to housing |1. In this modification the code or date is placed on the Web by means of a raised type plate 264 secured to a rotary sleeve 266 which by means of a knob 268 is clamped to the hub of a gear (not shown) which meshes with and is driven from gear 260 mentioned above. The type plate or plates 264, of course are so set and arranged and the gearing is such that it will contact and print in a predetermined space on the web. The type plate 264 is inked by means of a rotary ink transfer roller-210 which rotates in contact with an ink roller 212 partly submerged in an ink well 214. The latter is equipped with an adjustable doctor plate 216 to properly control the film of ink on roller 212. Ink roller 212 is mounted on a stud 218 to which is secured a gear 280 which meshes with a gear 282 mounted on a stud 284 to which is fastened the ink transfer roller 210. The ink transfer roller may be covered with any suitable type of flexible material such as rubber, felt etc. The gear 282 meshes with the gear which drives the sleeve 266 on which the type plate 264 is mounted.

Fig. 7 illustrates an arrangement whereby the code-dating member may readily be shifted to different horizontal positions so that, for example, the code mark may appear on any one of ve different positions, each position indicat- In this case the code-dating member may be a disk 290 which is provided with raised code marks 292 loosely supported by a turned down portion 294 of the hub 296 of a gear 268. Portion 294 furthermore carries four other discs 300 or smaller diameter but of the same width than disk 290 and the free end of said portion 294 is provided with a standard thread Which carries a threaded knob 302.

Gear 298 is driven from gear 260 and is loosely supported by a stud 304 held by a suitable bracket 308 attached to housing |1. The horizontal position of the code-dating disc 290 may readily be changed by unscrewing k'nob 302 and placing said disc at the end or ahead or in the middle of spacer discs 300. After the disc 290 has been positioned Where it will print in the place desired, the knob 302 is then replaced and turned tight against the discs 300 so that the innermost disc sets firmly against the shoulder 308 of gear hub 286. The friction between said shoulder, discs and knob is sufficient to hold the code-dating member firmly in place during operation. Since the entire train of feed rollers and ink supply roller is controlled by the intermittent motion of shaft 43, which is driven in the same manner as the drive shaft 43 shown in Fig. 1, the entire train will be arrested when there is no package present to be labeled. This no stamping or printing feature is similar to that described with respect to the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

While the position of the type with relation to the spot to be printed can be set in any manner desired, the timing may be so arranged that the type will not be in contact with the label or ink transfer rollerwhen the web W is at rest thus preventing the label from being smeared( As will be readily appreciated, the sleeve 265 shown in Fig.`6 may be mounted in the same manner as the discs shown in Fig. 7, namely on the turned down portion of its driving gear hub which may be constructed similar to gear hub 296 shown in Fig. 7, thus providing a convenient arrangement for resetting or replacing the printing sleeve 266.

It will also be understood that the use of ink may be undesirable in some instances, and in such a case an embosser or perforator may be substituted for the printer referred to herein.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a code-marker for printing notched label material in strip form. a train of parallel `feeding and guidingrollers arranged generally in the same plane. said train of rollers comprisingfirst and second spaced feeding rollers having spaced lugs on their peripheries adapted to engage the notches in said label material, a pair of strip guiding rollers, said guiding rollers being positioned between said feeding rollers so that one of said guiding rollers contacts the first of said feeding rollers and the other of said guiding rollers contacts the second of said rollers, a printing roller having marking means on the periphery thereof engaging the first of said feeding rollers in rolling contact therewith, means for supplying ink to said printing roller, all of said rollers being geared together for conjoint rotation, said label material being directed first downwardly between said guiding rollers, then between said first guiding roller and said first feeding roller, and then between said second feeding roller and said second guiding roller to thereby provide a wrap of said material around the periphery of said first feeding roller.

2. A code marker having the features provided for in claim 1 wherein said train of feeding and guiding rollers is driven intermittently.

- ERNEST E. POHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 86,627 vBackus Feb. 9, 1869 318,383 -Machris May 19, 1885 619,209 Nathan Feb. 7, 1899 644,298 VMcAdams Feb. 27, 1900 679,627 Leavey et al. July 30, 1901 1,541,476 Businger June 9, 1925 1,884,760 Lake z Oct. 25, 1932 1,945,498 Avery et al Jan. 30, 1934 1,952,918 Hartley Mar. 27, 1934 2,349,317 Weida May 23, 1944 

